A semiconductor is a very important product necessary in various industries. A semiconductor chip is produced, for example, by slicing a silicon monocrystal into a given thickness to make a silicon wafer and then forming plural integrated circuits and so on in the silicon wafer.
In the process for producing this semiconductor chip, the silicon wafer put on an electrostatic chuck is subjected to various treatments such as etching and CVD, so as to form conductor circuits, elements and so on. Since a corrosive gas is used as a gas for deposition, a gas for etching, and the like at this time, it is necessary to protect an electrostatic electrode layer from corrosion by these gases. The electrostatic electrode layer is usually covered with a ceramic dielectric film and the like because of the necessity of protecting an electrostatic electrode from above mentioned gases and the necessity of induction of adsorption power.
As this ceramic dielectric film, nitride ceramics have been hitherto used. For example, Japanese Kokai Publication Hei 5-8140 discloses an electrostatic chuck z using a nitride such as aluminum nitride. Japanese Kokai Publication Hei 9-48668 also discloses a carbon-containing aluminum nitride having an Al—O—N structure.